It was the
1960s all over again as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers battled the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats one again for the Grey Cup. For Bombers fans, it
was a long time coming, having not celebrated a national championship
since 1962.

Most of
the experts believed this was a mismatch on paper, and they turned
out to be correct. But not before the Ticats showed signs of an upset
as Hamilton jumped to a 14-3 first quarter lead.

Winnipeg
quarterback Tom Clements was ineffective in the opening 15 minutes,
getting picked off two times by Felix Wright and Mark Streeter. Both
interceptions led to Hamilton scores. Former Bombers pivot Dieter
Brock scored on a 15-yard scamper, and completed a seven-yard pass to
Rocky DiPietro for the other major.

But the
Bombers were not out of it by a long shot. They got their initial
points on a 25-yard field goal by Trevor Kennerd to close out the
opening quarter, then went on to score 27 points in the second
quarter to establish a new Grey Cup record.

Clements
improved as the game wore on, completing a 12-yard touchdown pass to
Joe Poplawski to put Winnipeg in the lead for good. Clements played
the game with a rib injury.

The
turning point of the game came 2:26 before halftime when Brock was
levelled by Winnipeg linebacker Tyrone Jones. The ball was knocked
loose and nose tackle Stan Mikawos picked up a loose football and ran
22 yards for a touchdown. This put the Bombers in front 24-17.

Willard
Reaves, the CFL Most Outstanding Player, scored a pair of touchdowns
on three-yard runs. His action was limited due to an injured
shoulder, but did rush for 64 yards.

Winnipeg
backup quarterback John Hufnagel completed a four-yard touchdown pass
to Jeff Boyd in the fourth quarter to complete the rout.

Bombers
cornerback David Shaw intercepted a Brock pass in the second quarter,
returning the ball 26 yards to the Hamilton 28 to help set up one of
Reaves’ scores.

Bernie
Ruoff booted a 20-yard field goal for Hamilton in the second quarter.
Kennerd kicked four field goals for Winnipeg.

Winnipeg
scored 44 unanswered points, shutting out the Ticats in the final 30
minutes.

It was the
first time the Grey Cup was held in Edmonton. It was a chilly one as
the game time temperature was minus-10 degrees.